Marc Quinn's 'Frozen Waves, Broken Sublimes' sculptures in the courtyard
 
My last stop at the design festival was the Somerset House, a new major destination this year. In the courtyard were four new monumental sculptures by Marc Quinn entitled 'Frozen Wave and Broken Sublime'. The stainless steel sculptures' primal, gestural shapes originate from [...]

Top row: the art deco features at Victoria House: 2nd & bottom rows: The college
 
Like 100% Design, this year, Design Junction moved from its previous location (the Former Royal Mail Sorting Office on New Oxford Street) to two enormous and historical venues on Southampton Row - the art deco Victoria [...]

Facade of 100% Norway at Tent London
 
For some reason, the design trade shows that I attended this year at The London design festival appeared to be quieter than usual. At Tent London, the atmosphere was a far cry from the chaos I experienced last year... not sure if it was the time [...]

100% design's new venue in Olympia; right: Donar
 
Having visited The London design festival for many years, I somehow feel that the festival is losing its spark/edge. The guide is undoubtedly getting thicker and heavier (not sure if anyone enjoyed carrying this design festival 'bible' around for 10 days), yet the [...]

Mexican pavilion: You Know You Cannot See Yourself So Well as by Reflection by Mexican architect Frida Escobedo
 
For those who have visited the V & A museum during the London design festival previously would know that 'seeking' the design installations within the maze-like museum could be rewarding and frustrating at the same time [...]

My last entry on the London design festival is related to shopping... As someone who is involved in the retail business, shamefully, I don't think I am out and about enough, and so the design festival was gave me an opportunity to see what is happening in the design retail world.
 

The Saturday [...]

Top left: DesignersBlock in Clerkenwell; 2nd row middle: Plumen's tree installation; 2nd row right: Dome by The Dub Module; Bottom: Beth Lewis-Williams
 
To be honest, I didn't think DesignersBlock's previous venue (South bank) was a suitable one because the show was too scattered and it just didn't gel together as a whole [...]

Top: Danish made; Bottom left: 100% Norway; Bottom right: visitors relaxing outside on a warm Sept day
 
This year, I was surprised by the number of Asian designers participating at Tent London. I ended up spending about 3 hours there and chatted to many designers, which left me feeling quite exhausted and [...]

100% design entrance tunnel created by Studio Design UK
 
During the London design festival, the first two stops for me were Home in Olympia and 100% Design in Earls Court. I visited our Japanese supplier Di-Classe's stand at Home and was glad to know that the show has generated a lot of interests [...]

Top & bottom left: Crest by Zaha Hadid Architects; Bottom right: Carousal wall by David David and Johnson Tiles
 
Another year, another design festival... unlike the previous years, I didn't have the time to do much planning beforehand, so I missed many talks especially at the V & A because they were [...]